Going back to Hell
by CountessZeno
Summary: What would happen if Alex was sent to Brecon Beacons for the summer? Set after Alex's GCSE exams post-snakehead
1. Chapter 1

I really don't own Alex although one can dream…

Chapter One

Alex stumbled back into the front hall of his Chelsea home, with some cuts and bruises marring his skin. Alex was just returning from Japan after his 10th mission for MI6. Although a few of the injuries looked bad Alex knew that he had been through worse and they weren't as bad as they looked. Alex now 15 and had been working for them for almost 18 months, ever since Scorpia had assassinated his Uncle Ian. Alex had been living with Ian since he had been one when the plane his parents had been on had been blown up by his godfather Ash under orders from Scorpia.

This was the first time Alex had been home in almost 5 weeks. So he knew that school on Monday would be a complete nightmare. Every time he went away of a mission MI6 used the excuse that he was ill but he returned looking fit, healthy, covered in muscles bruises and cut, alert and very confident and in control of his emotions. This meant that the other students and event the staff to some extent were absolutely fascinated with him and therefore there were the inescapable rumours. Ok so Alex knew that he had faced worse forms of torture than a few snide comments, but he had to at least act more normal and like he was recovering from a very bad virus or whatever when he was at school to minimize the other kid suspicions, and so in some ways this made it worse than what he face undercover on a mission. Because he wasn't allowed to react in the way his whole body was screaming at him to when he was confronted by the school bullies looking to agitate him and cause a fight that he, Alex would be blamed for, and he really couldn't afford the attention that would bring. Alex was also so far behind on schoolwork thanks to MI6's missions that all the teachers would sneer at him and try to catch him out but Alex knew he would remain professional through out giving no one any room to cause major trouble for him. After all Alex had now accepted that spying was in his blood and however much he might try to deny it he had actually began to enjoy the rush of adrenaline that missions and the action brought. So after a month without any contact from MI6 after Snakehead had finished, Alex did something that neither he or Mr Blunt and Mrs Jones had expected him to do (Blunt had expected it to happen but not for at least another year so he was really surprised!).

_Alex had phoned the Royal and General Bank and requested a meeting with Mr Blunt and Mrs Jones to take place during Brooklands lunch hour the following day. _

_FLASHBACK_

"Alex what can we do for you today?" Mrs Jones asked unable to completely control the curiosity that was creeping into her voice.

"_Well I've been doing a lot of thinking since getting back and I have come to the conclusion that spying is in my blood and however much I try to dine it, I can't just go back to being a normal teenager I've seen and done to much for that to ever happen. So I will work for you with out complaint from now on, on five conditions. One Jack stays with no visa threats ever again, two when I'm away Jack and Tom get protection, three I get back dated pay for all the mission I've already completed, four I get full agent status and everything that goes along with it and finally five I get permission to carry a gun permanently, cus do you really expect me to believe that of all the people I've pissed off none of them will ever find me to retaliate on and try to kill me or attack my school whilst I'm there? 'Cus if that's the case then it really stupid of you to believe that." Alex finished in a very slightly patronizing tone. _

_There was a brief stunned silence from both Mr Blunt and Mrs Jones._

However Blunt did soon recover enough to look over at Mrs Jones who simply nodded her head.

_As Blunt turned back to Alex, bluntly said "okay we agree to your conditions and we will also assign you a tutor to help you to catch up on work for your up coming GCSE examinations. After all now you officially work for us we can't have our top ranking field agent fail his GCSE's can we?" Blunt pulled a form out of his desk and gave it to Alex before continuing "Your contract of employment, read it trough and then sign the bottom, your backdated salary will be in your account by the end of the week after that you will be paid monthly. Oh and we would like it if this summer you did some training just to fill in the blanks and brush up on thing."_

_Alex nodded and looked down, and read the contract it was fairly simple 'don't tell anyone but if you sign you are now an employee of MI6 and you get the right to medical care, an office and anything else that the Head deems necessary for you to carry out you position effectively.' Alex took the pen off Blunts desk and signed and dated to bottom before handing it back to Blunt. Blunt in turn checked everything was in order and added his signature to the bottom and looked back at Alex. _

"_Go and see Smithers about your gun and ID, he will be expecting you." _

_Alex took this as his dismissal and left the room heading for the section of the basement where Smithers lab was situated. _

"_Alex my boy Mr Blunt told me what you need so you can get back to that school of yours, so let get you your ID first, then we'll sort out that gun for you." With this they headed off to a part of the lab Alex had never entered before, Alex followed Smithers over to a computer where he had his photo taken and uploaded to the computer along with his details and then Smithers hit a few keys and the printer whirled into life and out came Alex's MI6 ID badge which Smithers then slide into an official cover and handed to Alex with out even looking at it, smithers said he wasn't allowed to know what Alex's rank or security clearance were with out Blunts permission and they were both on the badge so he couldn't look at it, Alex also decided not to look and merely put the ID in his pocket. Smithers then began to move to an adjoining room which turned out to contain guns, Smithers walked to the back wall and selected a hand gun which Alex immediately recognised as a Browning__ Hi-Power, single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun with a 13-round magazine capacity. Smithers handed Alex the gun. Smithers also selected an ankle holster for Alex to keep the gut in and a new box of ammunition just in case a Smithers put it. With the tasks complete Smithers hurried Alex out the lab and told him to go back to school so Alex did just that._

_FASHBACK END_

Whilst he was remembering that life changing day and the ID he still hadn't looked at but like his gun he carried everywhere he went (except on undercover missions), Alex had staggered gingerly but silently up to his room being very careful not to make any noise as he passed his housekeeper Jack's room so he wouldn't wake her up so she couldn't quiz him on the mission; 'cus he wanted to clean up and try to catch up on some of his missed sleep. There were at least 30 hours of sleep missing this week alone these were mostly from his vivid nightmares from previous missions, but naturally some were from the final show down in which he had stopped a gang from disturbing a new drug that was actually a nerve agent and would have killed millions world wide.

Once Alex was in his room he closed the door behind him and locked it just to be safe (this was something he had picked up from his time at Mologosto, he might not be able to hear someone come into his room but he would be able to hear the door, weather it was someone knocking or trying to break the door down). Slowly Alex made his way across his room shedding his clothes as he went into his on-suite bathroom to let the hot water from the shower work its healing magic on his bruised aching muscles.

As he washed away the dirt and grim left over from his mission along with the 5 wash brown hair dye (he had been forced to use, knowing that it would be out in time for school on Monday) he thought about the few friends he had left at Brooklands hopefully they would stick to the unspoken agreement they had and not ask him any questions about where he had been it had been hard to get to this point but they had when they had realised that Alex had never lied or kept anything from them before so this must be important. They had also decide that Alex might one day tell them what was going on with him 'cus hay had come to realise that none of the rumours had come close to the truth. Alex liked it best this way, them treating him like he was normal after a particularly hard mission was just what he needed to keep him sane. Although Tom, who had know about Alex's double life for about a year, would get an edited account to the mission, it helped to be able to talk to someone outside his world about what happened on missions and surprisingly MI6 had understood this and given Alex permission to talk to Tom about things as long as the main details were edited to a point beyond absolute recognition.

When Alex got out the shower he carefully but methodically dried himself and padded back into his bedroom where he pulled on an old t-shirt and a clean pair of boxers and then completed a security check of his room. Once this was done he settled down on the middle of his room and began to work his way through a series of relaxation exercises that he had been taught by Scorpia and he had found that they kept away the worst of his nightmares and meant that he was actually resting and rejuvenating whilst sleeping. Although he did tend to wake up a bit early so he would meditate to allow his body more time to rest. So on average he slept about 5 hours a night but if he was not on a mission he could push that to about 6 hours. Right now 6 hours sleep seemed like a good thing to Alex and it would mean he would wake up at 8:30am and the meditate until 9:30 which to Alex seemed like a perfectly acceptable time for a teenage boy to get up at on a Sunday. And with these final thoughts Alex drifted off to sleep.

He woke up at about 8:00am sweating and tangled in his sheets, but unusually Alex couldn't remember the nightmare that had brought him out of his deep sleep, at least that was a major improvement. It took Alex well over 5 minuets to extract himself from the knot that was his bedding. Once this was complete though Alex settled down on the floor in the middle of his room a mediation position and just let his mind drift away from his body just like sleeping but he was still aware of everything going on around him.

Will hopefully update in ten days

Reviews are welcome!!!

'tess x


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!!!!!!!!! Just to let you know there is some bad language later in the chapter.

Disclaimer: I in no way shape or form own any of the Alex Rider characters featured in this story!

Chapter Two

Alex heard Jack beginning to move around her room and decided that he would go and make breakfast for them both, as an 'I'm home and not very injured' surprise for Jack. After all she didn't even know he was back yet although she knew he had to be back soon as his GCSE exams were going to start a week tomorrow. Alex now felt confident with the work thanks to the tutor MI6 had arranged, his teachers were vaguely happy as the work Alex did for then was back to the A-average he had maintained before his uncle's death. The teachers still demanded all the missed work from Alex so that would be his task today- start to catch up with class work. Although Alex knew, that Jack felt that, for him seeing his mates' when he was around was more important than schoolwork. After all it helped him to maintain a normal side to his complicated life.

Once in the kitchen Alex put the coffee maker on and set about skilfully making French toast, setting the table with plates cutlery and coffee mugs and then putting out a choose of sweet topping in front of the plates so that Jack and Alex could choose their own toppings. The appetizing smell of fresh ground coffee and French toast quickly drew Jack towards the kitchen. Where she pulled Alex into hag tight but not bone crushing hug before releasing him to see the damage done by the latest mission.

"Alex let me look at you…" She paused whilst she inspected his cuts and bruises before continuing her rant by saying "it's not the worst you've come back with, but please be more careful, I worry about you. So when did you get home? I didn't hear you come in. What are you going to do today?"

"I got in at about 1:30am and went to bed at about 2:00 after cleaning up and putting stuff away. Jack I really didn't expect you to hear me come in…I'm a spy we move quietly that's what we do." Alex said slightly sarcastically, pausing briefly to serve breakfast before saying, "I need to phone Mr Edwards this morning to see if we can do some extra revision classes this week for exams but I'll go to school as well this week, 'cus all the help I can get would be good, even though I feel that I can do everything you can never be to prepared. Then I thought I might phone Tom and see what he's doing 'cus if he's meeting up with Jack and that lot I might go with them an hang out with mates and try to be normal before school on Monday. So what have you been up to?"

They finished breakfast talking about trivial details of everyday life like how had Jack managed to feed herself this time without burning the kitchen down and the latest instalment of Jack on-going love affair with everything Robert Patterson (Alex had hoped that this would be over by the time he had got back but apparently not!?!)

Alex phoned Mr Edwards and arranged daily tuition session this week before heading off to meet Tom and the gang of mates they both normally hang out with at the cinema to see some new spy movie that apparently they just had to see. Alex thought that at least he would be amused by how small minded it was bound to be after all most spy movies were. But on the bright side he would see his mates and be able to get the staring at his cuts and stuff out the way before school.

Alex walked out to the garage and got his bike out and headed over to Tom's house.

When Alex arrived at Tom's house he saw that he was not the only one from school there, the rest of their friends from school were also there.

Alex sighed and thought to himself "might as well get this over with, and on the plus side with the guys here Tom can't quiz me on the mission details so I have more time to work out the details that I want to tell him after all there are just some things that he shouldn't be told about as they would take some of his innocence away and I can't be the one to do that." Alex walked up to the door and rung the doorbell.

One of their other mates Ed opened the door looked Alex up and exclaimed "Shit! What kind of truck ran you over?!?" looking expectantly at Alex. The others were drawn into the entrance hall and all of them let out a string of profanities at the sight of Alex's new injuries. Tom meanwhile caught Alex's eye and gave him a look that clearly said you will explain as soon as we're not going to be overheard.

Ross one of the guys said "What the hell happened to you?"

Alex decided that this might be the easiest way of explaining his new Smither's improved iphone "got mugged said no when they asked for my phone and stuff so...this happened. Got out of the hospital yesterday. But all's not lost I got an iphone so... it was worth it. Its only cuts and bruises they didn't break anything."

The guys just looked horrified that Alex would think anything was worth getting hurt for, Tom just looked amused at this excuse, Alex knew he would realise that Smither's had given Alex the iphone and that this was a way of justifying both.

Although the guy's didn't really accept this latest excuse, they couldn't understand why they didn't believe it after all it was entirely plausibly. It might be because Alex was almost always coming back to school with some sort of injury after his lengthy absences. They had been discussing Alex's absences as a group they couldn't find fault in Alex's reasons for being away or at least now they accepted that some of the reasons were lies but as Alex had never lied to them before so the felt that it must be a very good reason.

They spent the day playing video game and watching movies. Alex had had fun but knew he had to get home cus he had promised Jack he would be home by 9:00pm.

When Alex got home he talked to Jack for a bit before going to bed to get up early for school the next morning. Alex knew going to bed now wouldn't make a difference to when he would wake up after all the nightmares would wake him up early anyway; but so far he had managed to not let Jack know about the nightmares, what would happen when he went back to Breacon Beacons in a couple of weeks, after his exams. Actually he knew he was leaving about two hours after his final exam ended.

Hopefully will update in about a week but I have two assignments due in for uni next week so it might be the start of the week after but it will be soon!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N sorry this took so long to update I've not had any internet access for the last week! Happy reading

Oh...I didn't get Alex Rider for Christmas no matter how much I wish and dream I did!?!

Chapter Three

Alex sat in the helicopter on his way to Breacon Beacons, he had a copy of the file that K-unit and the sergeant got to see on his arrival and if Alex felt they could be trusted in a week when Ben-no Fox arrived he would bring a slightly less classified version of Alex's file with him.

It wouldn't be much but at least it would show that he trusted them to know things about him, he would even answer some questions about the missions themselves. It was three hours into Alex's summer holiday and here he was going back to hell.

Alex found himself praying that he got the grades that Mr Bray had told him that were required from _his_ GCSE's results for Brooklands to accept him as an A-level student, he had taken 12 GCSE's and all of them had to be passed with at least a grade B or above. Alex let his mind wonder back to the day Mr Bray had told Alex this.

_FLASHBACK_

_Alex knocked at the door of the headmaster's office. It was strange that he Alex, who had faced down people trying to kill him, was nervous about this interview with Mr Bray discussing Alex's future at Brooklands and the conditions of them letting Alex's do his A-levels there. Alex's did have permission from Blunt to force them to keep him if necessary but if the conditions were reasonable Alex wouldn't force the issue._

_Blunt seemed to feel that school allowed Alex to blend in with his age group properly making for a good cover and Alex had told Blunt that he wanted to finish school officially with his friends before joining MI6 full-time. _

_Alex waited a couple of minutes after knocking on Mr Bray's office door, he hadn't heard a reply so he was trying to work out what to do, when he heard hurried footsteps coming down the corridor towards him. Alex swiftly turned to face the sound and unconsciously checked for danger. He relaxed when he saw that the person coming towards him was Mr Bray. _

_For some reason Mr Bray had already decided that Alex was to be allowed to carry on attending Brooklands and that the school wouldn't make enquires about where Alex was when he was off school 'ill'. It made Alex wonder if MI6 had already talked to him. In reality they might well have done but Alex didn't care he felt free- he was allowed to maintain a scene of normality in his very abnormal life._

_FLASHBACK END_

Alex was dreading meeting the Sergeant again especially with his obviously sanitised file (Alex knew that there was almost nothing in it!) so as the car got closer to the camp Alex's face adapted the world's best poker face, nothing could be read off it, it was the face that made terrorists afraid of this teenaged spy.

The car pulled up outside the building containing the Sergeant's office and Alex got out the car collected it single bag from the boot of the car and made his way into the building to report to the Sergeant.

Alex was kept waiting by an irate Sergeant for almost an hour. The Sergeant was staring at an almost empty file that explained nothing about what the boy... Cub...had been up to since he was last here and some of the rumours that hinted at possible Cub sighting were just ridiculous; come on, a teenager being found in a Space pod off the coast of Australia, which was just too much to be believable.

Any way keeping the boy waiting would allow K-unit to arrive for the end of Cub's meeting and they could see his 'file' then. So the Sergeant sat staring at the piece of paper that made up Cub's file as if this would make it say more for about forty minutes before calling Cub into the office.

Alex went in the office and the first thing he could see was his file, so naturally he read it upside down whilst listening to the Sergeant.

**Name: Alex**** ***** ******* aka Cub**

**Age: 1*****

**Date of Birth: February 2****nd**** 19******

**Status: Available**

**Clearance: Level 7 out of 10**

**Health: Good. See medical file for possible problems (Level 5 clearance needed).**

**Fitness: Excellent**

**Schooling: Currently taking ****** examinations**

**Relations/Acquaintances: *************

**-MI6 are Alex's currently Alex's legal guardians **

**Missions: See Files: -************************ Clearance level 5 needed to see files.**

**Basic SAS training was assigned to K-unit for 10 days will be reassigned to them in future. *********************

**Other: Classified.**

Below the open file Alex could see four other copies of his file for K-unit to take to read. Alex was having a hard time keeping a smile off his face although this wasn't showing in his blank features. Alex saw that his expressionless face was beginning to freak the Sergeant out.

Alex heard the sound of four sets of feet walking towards the office and it took him a lot of effort not to turn and face the approaching noise as his instincts told him. He instead waited and let the knock sound at the door but even now he had kept his face free of emotions.

The Sergeant turned to the door allowing his dissatisfaction at not being able to have provoked any form of emotional response from Alex to show briefly on his face. He then shouted at the closed door "ENTER!"

The door swung open to revile K-unit, Alex recognised three out of the four members but he had been expecting this as Fox-Ben had transferred to MI6 some time ago. Alex had actually seen him for dinner last week, after the Snakehead thing the two agents had developed an almost sibling like relationship and this had led to weekly get togethers whenever they were both available.

Alex looked at K-unit and saw the expected expressions on all the faces, Wolf just looked angry, Snake looked impassive but Alex could tell he was very intrigued as to the reason they had all been summoned to the Sergeant's office immediately after returning from leave, and Eagle looked incredibly curious and interested the new member looked like he was on his best behaviour and was only staring straight ahead.

None of them had had yet to spot Alex but they all 'reported as ordered' and then turned to the seats behind the Sergeant's desk one of which contained the boy they only knew as Cub.

The Sergeant saw a flicker of a smirk pass across Cub's face as the sound of three surprised cries of "Cub!?!" followed a questioning exclamation of "Who???" from Mole the newest addition to K-unit.

When coming up with my member of K-units name I had just been thinking about mole from wind in the willows!!! Will try to have the next update up within the week!

Tess x


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Ok I'm so sorry for not updating yet but life's been really hectic at the moment. This is for several reasons, a very close friend of mine was diagnosed with terminal cancer at Christmas and given a couple of months to live. She passed away late last week. The University has been piling on the number of assignmants due in. So I haven't really had the time to write but I do hope to have an update out soon.**

**Tess x**


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